Hey Nonny, Nonny.
'Shall I compare thee to a week alongside in Mare Harbour ?' 'It
is the East Cove, and January has no sun !' 'Tomorrow and tomorrow,
creeps on this petty cargo work !!!' Okay, so it's not quite Shakespeare,
but the dramatics continue apace on board RRS Ernest Shackleton, this
week. In the First Act, we arrived back at the Falkland Islands, and discharged
two of our cast - or should I say 'two in casts' !! After the brief intermission
the story continued with a complex plot of cargo discharge and then loading,
followed by the epilogue of relaxation and recreation. Time for a 'play'. So
with this foreword from the narrator, let the play begin ... BREAK A LEG !

LEGLESS IN THE FALKLANDS

Michelle puts her legs up for a little relaxationAndy reclines after a hard day at the office !.Click on images to enlarge

The Hospital Ship Ernest Shackletonbounced around at sea on
Sunday 14 January still feeling the aftermath of the South Georgia depression
(low pressure system) that troubled us for the most of the last week. The
barometer peaked around the middle of afternoon, but luckily, the 'roller
coaster' rise and fall of the Southern Ocean pressure system eased in the
evening to allow a much more comfortable passage into Monday morning. Monday was
also spent at sea but the weather was kinder and the seas calmer, although the
wind was still Force 6 (30 mph) from the westnor'west. As a result of an attempt
to ease the vessel's motion in the 'heavy weather' experience on the passage
from South Georgia, we did not make the anticipated arrival in the Falkland
Islands on Monday evening, but arrived instead at 08.30 hours on Tuesday. As
messages had been sent ahead arranging for an Ambulance, a real one (with
wheels) was there to meet our invalids as we arrived alongside.

By 09.00 Wendy and her team of stretcher bearers had negotiated both
Michelle and Andy ashore to the Ambulance which took them away for further care
and attention at the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Stanley. Subsequent
reports from the hospital informed us that Andy would have to wait a further
week before a flight was available to take him home, and Michelle was given
medical attention before her flight back to the United States on Saturday 20
January. We end this saga with a wish that their onward travel will be smoother,
and send them both our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

TO LOAD OR NOT TO LOAD, THAT IS THE QUESTION ?

Discharge of cargo started almost immediately alongside on Tuesday
morning. All the Morrison's waste and Halley waste was landed during Tuesday, as
the weather turned rainy and work had to be continued in very wet conditions.
The weather all week has been changeable alongside with high winds and rain one
moment, and sunshine and calm the next. Once the waste was landed, all those
1700 empty fuel drums had to be landed, and this began on Wednesday. Empty
containers were craned into the hold intp which all the drums were rolled and
stacked inside by the deck crew. This time-consuming operation was not completed
until Thursday afternoon thanks to :-

THE INTERMISSION....On Wednesday afternoon the vessel had to take the only available
opportunity to obtain bunkers, other than by road tanker (which would have taken
forever and interfered with cargo work). Thus at 1300 hours the vessel slipped
her moorings and proceeded out to Mare Harbour to do a refuelling operation from
the Single Point Mooring (SPM) with the aid of Seabulk Condor. Seabulk
Condor retrieved the hoses floating by the SPM and passed them up to the
bunkering station on the deck of RRS Ernest Shackleton and then 503
cubic metres of diesel oil were transferred. As this operation had not been
previously attempted between ourselves and
Seabulk Condor it was quite slow and hence it was late in the evening
before the operation was successfully concluded . As twilight turned to
darkness, Shackleton made her way back alongside the Main Jetty ready to resume
cargo operations in the morning.

(Left) Seabulk Condor manouevering around Saint Brandan
off the Main Jetty. (Middle) Seabulk Condor alongside Ernest
Shackleton at the SPM, and (Right) Returning to the Main Jetty as the
sun sets in the West. Click on images to enlarge

The rest of the week involved the completion of the discharge, and
then the loading of cargo for King Edward Point and Halley in preparation for
our mid-week departure from the Falkland Islands. As all this was happening, an
ongoing program of maintenance and repairs was being undertaken by the
technical/engineering departments onboard. There is always something to do. 'The
show is never over until the fat lady sings' and she was certainly not in
evidence this week. The Engineers were pulling the No.1 Main engine apart to
replace the No.5 cylinder head (port engine), and there were tests to be done on
the steering gear too. But by Saturday night all the cargo was loaded, the
engine was back together, and the crew could start to look forward to a
well-earned day's R&R in the Falklands. Walks to Bertha's Beach were
undertaken, shopping trips to Stanley, a night time meal out in town on Friday
evening, cycle rides by the Communications Officer, visits to MPA for all manner
of distractions and a Friday Night BBQ at the 'Harbour Lights' here at Port Ops
in Mare Harbour itself. There is no limit to the number of amusements to be
found if you are inventive enough to find them. Wendy the dentist booked into
the Upland Goose Hotel at the weekend in order to be available for an early
morning flight out to Sea Lion Island for the day. (We will get her to write a
precis of her adventures ready for next week !).

EXIT, Stage Right !

We sailed into Mare Harbour with seven FIDs onboard. Today we are
down to 21 crew only, and even our resident dentist has 'flown the coop' in
pursuit of a mid-season break. The first two to disembark were Michelle and Andy
on the Tuesday Morning. Trish, John, Mike and Gary were the next off. They
departed on Wednesday in time for the UK flight to the UK. This left only
Professor Jo Arendt, and Jo waited around for her Lan Chile flight over to South
America. Jo was to join her husband there for a two-week jolly around the
continent before flying homeward to England. Cheerful farewells ensued as she
departed on Saturday afternoon, but the bulk of the 'Goodbyes' had been said in
a little presentation that the crew and FIDs arranged for her on Monday night
before arriving in the Falklands.

The Captain announced on the Public Address System that all off-duty
personnel and FIDs should congregate in the Yellow room for some 'additional
information' concerning our arrival in the Falkland Islands. So what a surprise
it was when Jo walked into the room to find a nice array of 'nibbles' and drinks
awaiting her. Even the crutch-bound Andy had managed to get carried into the
room for this communal 'farewell' to a really popular lady. Jo had been onboard
for the six-week round-trip to Halley and back and had taken to our hearts. She
was very touched indeed by the presentation of a ship's plaque and voyage-chart,
as the Master said a few words of farewell. Then we all wished her 'bon voyage'
and we look forward to welcoming her back on board the vessel another year.

Novices Guide to Antarctica. (Anon -to be revised)

Everyone, over an area of about 10,000 square miles, knows everyone else.

Most of them have survived against incredible odds and are Polar heroes.

The Falkland Islands are variegated shades of khaki-which means that the military buildings look just right.

A lot of the Southern Hemisphere seems to be UK territory.

Everything more or less is known by its initials: MPA, FID, FRC, KEP, RBLT, XBT, A23 etc etc. Unless you find out
rapidly what all this gobbledegook means you won't know where you are or what you are doing. It is particularly dangerous to confuse XBTs with RBLTs.

Ice breaking is extremely enjoyable.

The ship's food is so good it is possible to put on two stone between Grimsby and Halley whilst working out every day.

People get off ships in flying baskets. Yes, really. This is not a joke.

Halley (75°S) in late December is warmer than most of the UK. And much more fun.

The sky is a slightly different colour from the rest of the world (no pollution?).

The sea is an incredible blue-green-black amongst the ice.

Icebergs can be identified as coming from a specific ice shelf, rather like fine wine. More from the body than the bouquet however.

With practice it is possible to drink cups of tea standing upright, without holding on to the ship, in hurricane force winds, without spilling a drop.

You get very attached to ships which have carried you safely through monstrous seas.

Fur seals are not soft cuddly little beasts. They are aggressive, dangerous and always hiding behind tussock grass ready to get you.

Elephant seals know nothing about rights of way. They also suffer from obstructive sleep apnea.

South Georgia is one of the most stunning places in the world.

Wrecked and rusting whaling stations are beautiful and haunting places.

Moulting penguins clearly need some Prozac.

Icebergs, albatrosses, petrels, prions, terns, skuas are compulsive viewing at all times and in all weathers.

It takes at least half an hour to get all the cold weather gear on - and then you're too hot.

Emperor penguin chicks are both charming and obedient. Nursemaid penguins behave just like middle-aged school teachers did 40 years ago.

You have the persistent impression that some benevolent deity is keeping an eye on you and making sure all is well. This is a very nice feeling.

Author Jo Arendt

'Once More Unto The MPA Dear Friends'

I like the MPA (Mount Pleasant Airport) Complex. I always thought
MPA had a lot to offer vis-a-vis the Bowling Alley, the Movies, the various
bars, the 'open -all-hours' NAAFI shops and a very useful transportation
facility to and from Mare Harbour every hour or so. Compared to a twice-a-day,
one hour, coach ride to Stanley where the distractions are limited to a few
shops and a few bars/cafes. There is really nothing very much on offer in town,
especially at the weekend when the shops are closed. But when it was confirmed
that MPA even boasted a small golf course of its own, it went up even more in my
estimation. Thus it was that myself and Robert the Second Engineer went in
pursuit of yet another of the Falkland Islands golf courses !

Leaving Shackleton at 0930 (having missed the aforesaid
regular transport !), we walked towards MPA. It was not very long before a
Sherpa from the NEFI complex near to Mare Harbour stopped and offered us a lift.
That is one attribute about the Falkland Islands that is very gratifying. People
are not afraid to stop and offer pedestrians a lift. This is something that
seems to have sadly died out in the 'civilised world'. But I suspect the
Falklands is more 'civilised' in this one aspect than other countries. Accepting
a lift, we were deposited outside 12 Facility on the MPA complex by 1000. We
said 'thank you' for the lift and made our way directly to the Gymnasium where
we could obtain golf equipment.

The Fee for playing a round of golf and the hire of the two sets of
golf clubs amounted to the grand sum of NOTHING. The military just took our
signatures for the use of the clubs and we were ready to go. We made our way
from 12 Facility and out onto the golf course which is rough hewn out of the
scrub between the buildings and the airfield. Rough, it is, but small, compact
and highly challenging too. That is my estimation of the MPA golf course. There
are no trees to fire your golfball into here, but there is a natural water
obstacle which I found out when I sliced my ball into a particularly 'marshy'
bit of ground. It is only 9 holes long, but twice around the course makes a
perfectly passable 18 holes !

Rob and Steve on a very blustery MPA Golf Course.Click on images to enlarge.

It was a very blustery day for golf, but it did not deter us from
having a great game, from losing several golf balls, and for watching an RAF
Chinook 'playing' above our heads or the RAF Tristar taking off in the distance
behind the fifth green!

Author Steve-the-Golfer.

THE ADVENTURES OF P.B. BEAR.Is it a bird ? Is it a plane ? NO, It's PB Bear.

PB Arrives at Mare Harbour, Gets An Evening Meal, and Straight to Bed - Tuckered Out !!!.Click on images to enlarge.

To all the children and staff of St.Cuthbert's School, we would like
you to know that PB Bear is finally here. Despite his many and varied
adventures, PB has returned from the Antarctic continent to pay us a visit and
has agreed to stay onboard RRS Ernest Shackleton for another visit down
to Halley. (He says he likes Halley best !). He would like everyone at home to
know that he is well (apart from a slight sniffle) and is looking forward to
some more adventures to add to his list. He was just waiting there with his
little suitcase when we sailed into Mare Harbour on Tuesday and acted as if he
had not a care in the world. Little did he know how much concern he was giving
the crew of the ship, who had not known where on earth he was these last weeks ?
But fear not. He had a wonderful Christmas in a two-bear tent on the Antarctic
ice and he saw the New Year come in down the Antarctic Peninsula at Rothera
station. This is one well-travelled Bear !!.

EPILOGUE :As PB Bear would say, 'To sleep, to sleep, to sleep. Perchance to dream'..
And we shall be dreaming up some more nonsense for the website next week.
Tickets for that performance are on sale in the Foyer. Goodnight and drive
home carefully !

Forthcoming events : Arrival at Bird Island to uplift Mr J
Newman and transfer him to King Edward Point, South Georgia.

Contributors this week : Many thanks to Steve the Golfer and
Professor Jo Arendt.

Diary 15 will be written on 28 January 2001 and should be published on
29 January 2001.